


Zoo Jasper

by Rycalla



Series: Fire and Ice (and other assorted gemlings) [5]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Family Bonding, Gemlings, Just about everyone but Pearl has one., Seriously a lot of gemlings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23504767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rycalla/pseuds/Rycalla
Summary: After the last straw with Lapis, Amethyst takes Jasper to live with the Famethyst and amusing things ensue.A combination of the Fire and Ice series and the Very Bad Idea arc
Relationships: Amethyst/Carnelian (Steven Universe), Amethyst/Jasper (Steven Universe), Carnelian/Skinny (Steven Universe), Jasper/Sharky, Jasper/Skinny (Steven Universe)
Series: Fire and Ice (and other assorted gemlings) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1617934
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

Carnelian rested on the grass, her little amethyst cub slept on her lap. Her other cub, a carnelian, played around with a human boy, though she was stronger and a little bit bigger than him despite being around the same age.

Since the humans had taken over, the zoo had become almost paradise for both them and the gems guarding it. Holly Blue Agate couldn’t get them to do anything anymore and she resigned herself to take care of her own three little cubs. Most of the quartz had cubs because some time ago the lot of them had gone into heat after millennia of being suppressed. A few, like Skinny Jasper and one of the Rose Quartzes, had managed to find other ways to control themselves without being bred, but almost everyone had either sired or carried at least one cub. Carnelian had two, and even though she was smaller than the rest of the quartz and didn’t have an actual mate, she took good care of them.

“I never thought they could be so similar,” the human child’s mother said as she watched the Carncub and baby play.

“I knew literally nothing about them until I had them. We had all kinds of research on humans, but nothing on quartz, and even less about a Carnelian like me,” Carnie said. Her Amecub rolled over in her sleep and kicked her legs. She was clearly dreaming, her mother wondered what about. She was named Violet and her twin sister was Nellie.

“Raspberry, come back! Hey, can one of you guys catch my cub before she gets in the water?” Chip cried, her Amethyst gemling racing towards one of the pools. Skinny Jasper dove for the cub and kept her from jumping in. The Amecub squirmed in her arms.

“Oh, c’mon Chip. She’s an Amethyst. It’s not like she can drown, let her have some fun,” Sharky said, swimming in the pool with 8XH and their own Amecub.

“You and 8XH can be reckless with your cub, I’ll take care of Raspberry how I see fit,” Chip said. The Amecub stopped squirming once Skinny had given her back to her mother. “As for you, pretty Jasper, come by my cubby later. I’ll give you your reward.”

“I was just in the right place at the right time, Chip,” Skinny said, blushing.

“We’re not reckless with Hexa, we just want her to be happier than we were when we were made,” 8XH said.

The human felt something tugging at her tunic, looking down to see the Carncub staring at her with big violet eyes. “Cute. What could she want?”

“I think Nellie is trying to say she’s hungry and wondering if you could feed her. Bring her here, Vee-Seven. I would get her myself, but I don’t want to wake up Violet,” Carnelian said. V-7 nodded and picked up the cub.

“She’s a little heavy,” the woman said.

“Well, she is a gem,” Carnelian said as she took the cub. As she started to nurse it, Skinny came over and sat with her. “Hey, you. Awesome grab with Raspberry. You’re so good with all the cubs.”

“I was worried I’d hurt her,” the Jasper said.

“She’s a quartz just like the rest of us! These cubs can handle anything. A Jasper twice your size could’ve done that and wouldn’t have hurt her,” Carnelian said.

“You know I don’t know much about cubs. I’m better with human children,” Skinny said, resting her head on Carnie’s shoulder and nuzzling her. “Diamonds, you’re so soft.”

“I just fed you an hour ago, Nellie, how can you be hungry again? Stars, she’s just like her sire. Last time she was around she ate almost all the fruit,” Carnelian said.

“Good thing we don’t need to eat, but it doesn’t help the humans,” Skinny said.

“I do need to eat right now. Cubs need nutrition for the first few years of their lives to develop properly, and they get all of it from me right now, so I’m still on the Jasper slurry the Peridots gave me while I was pregnant,” Carnelian said. Her little Amethyst cub opened her eyes and yawned. “Aw, Violet, did you have a good nap? Mommy is a good pillow, huh?”

“You’re so cute. Mmm…I think I would like an appetizer before I have some Chip and dip later,” Skinny purred.

“Don’t talk that way around my cubs.”

“Not like they understand it, and I was just joking anyway. You know I’m not like the Primes and I won’t sleep with you,” Skinny said.

“I wouldn’t care if you did want it. I’ve never been with a Jasper and you’re not as big as the rest of them. Would you ask Chip if I can join you guys later? I need some love. Haven’t had anyone since before I had the cubs,” Carnelian said.

“We’ll see. I think the humans are going to invite Steven to see the Rose Quartz cubs anyway and you know our beloved 8XM will tag along to see us and play with her cubs. She’d probably give you some attention,” the jasper said, curling up on the grass and falling asleep. She had become kind of lazy since she had stopped having to take care of humans, and loved exploiting the fact that Holly couldn’t stop her from relaxing anywhere she saw fit anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Lapis practically busted the doors of the beach house down. None of the other gems had seen her so angry, and they had no idea what had happened because she they could hardly understand what she was saying.

“Calm down and tell us what’s wrong,” Pearl said nervously.

“WHERE’S JASPER?!” The blue gem yelled.

“I think she went back to her den with her cubs after Steven left, haven’t seen her since. She’s pretty depressed, just like the rest of us,” Amethyst said, unfazed by the intrusion.

“I’m not going to let this go,” Lapis said.

“What’d she do now?” 

Lapis slammed a piece of paper down on a table. “You suggested she apologize to me for everything she’s done, right? Well, instead she writes this whole thing talking about how the Malachite incident was MY fault and how much I traumatized and hurt HER and that she’s only sorry that I’m such a psychopath. She goes on to talk about what an awful person I am and how stupid you all are for trusting me and how I should apologize to her instead, and she ends it suggesting I should lick her stripey orange…well, I’m not going to say the next word but I imagine you know what it is!” she snapped. 

Amethyst grabbed the paper and read it, whistling at the end. “Yeah, this is a little much. I’ll see if we can go find her,” she said.

“Lapis, you stay here considering. Amethyst, maybe you should go alone,” Garnet said, coming out of her room holding her pink sapphire gemling.

“Is something wrong with Sophie?” Pearl asked.

“Not wrong specifically. I just need to have a talk with her. She has been scrying and scaring her sisters with possible futures, and I need to teach her to use her power responsibly. Particularly since there are no signs Snowy can do it,” Garnet said. 

“Hey, why can’t Pearl come with me? What if Jasper decides to attack?” Amethyst asked.

“I don’t see any problems. Pearl needs to stay here with Lapis,” Garnet said.

XX

“And that’s how I ended up out here…” Amethyst finished.

Jasper rolled her eyes. “Every word of that letter was truth. Lapis deserved worse. Conceiving these two was the only use for her,” she said, her twin cubs holding onto her legs. 

“Your cubs are cute. They deserve to live somewhere nice. I’ve got two little cubs like that,” Amethyst said.

“They’re fine here. Better than in that barn with their stupid sire and that lousy Peridot. This is their nest, and they’re happy,” Jasper growled.

“I know a better place for you. You told me Steven told you to do something better with your life. I was gonna go see them anyway,” Amethyst said.

“I don’t care. Leave me alone.”

“Oh, I think you would if you knew where we’re going. Just come with me, bring the kids, you’ll all love it,” Amethyst said.

“I won’t love it, and I’ll pulverize you afterwards, runt,” Jasper said.

“Oh, c’mon. You don’t need to always be like this. If you won’t even enjoy it, at least your cubs will. There’s lots of little quartz cubs where we’re going, even some other Jaspers,” Amethyst said.

“They’re not going to that stupid school! I can train Tiger and Fang myself!” Jasper yelled.

Amethyst smiled. “Who said anything about Little Homeschool? We’re going to see my sisters. Some of your sisters too. They all have cubs right now because they were taken off their suppressant. I actually sired two with that little Carnelian from Beta, an Amethyst and a Carnelian. I have a fun time with her and one of the other Jaspers when I go visiting. I think you’d be happier there with them. You can fight Sharky; she’s the biggest and strongest Amethyst. Your gemlings can play with all their cousins. If you ever want to have more, the quartz can provide. My sister 8XJ has twin Amethysts with a Jasper,” she said happily.

“You sure they’ll tolerate me?”

“Yeah, girl. I’ve told them all about you. Skinny really wants to see you again and so does Carnelian. There’s about eight Jaspers among the countless Amethysts. They’d love to have you around. They’ll let you fight,” Amethyst said.

Jasper looked back at her den. Yeah, she agreed maybe her cubs would be safer with their own kind, and she wouldn’t have to constantly maintain it. The grass just got stronger and harder to control every time it came back, lousy plant. At least she didn’t own much, so she could move out easily.

“We’ll see,” She finally said.


	3. Chapter 3

Jasper’s cubs were far more impressed by the Zoo than their mother; of course it was to be expected. Tiger, the red-striped blue-eyed cub with her gem on her back, immediately spotted an Amecub and went after her. Fang, with her gem and eyes like her mother and blue stripes on her legs, still clung to Jasper, but she looked around interested.

Amethyst went to gather her sisters, and returned with Nellie in her arms. “I had to tell them about Steven, and they’re all upset, but they do want to see you. Especially the Jaspers,” the purple gem said.

“Is that a Carncub?” Jasper asked.

“Yeah, she’s my little red baby, her name is Nellie. I’ve got an Amethyst around here somewhere too,” Amethyst said. 

Carnelian snuck up behind Jasper and jumped on her back. “Big sister!” she cried in delight. 

“Get off, runt,” Jasper growled. The smaller gem leapt off and embraced Amethyst instead.

“Hey Carnie, where’s Violet? I couldn’t find her,” Amethyst asked.

“Skinny has her. She acts like the sire because you’re never around,” Carnelian said.

“Okay, where is Skinny? Anyway, I’ll be around more often since Steven left us,” Amethyst said sadly. “But I brought Jasper and her cubs here to live.” 

Jasper looked around. “There are even more stupid plants here!” she yelped.

“That’s just the human habitat. If you don’t want to hang out there there’s probably a free cubby you could live in,” Said Skinny as she came over, Violet squirming in her arms. There was squealing and Tiger ran back to her mother with Hexa at her heels. “Aww, apparently I’ve got even more nieces.”

“They’re my little warriors and that Amethyst brat had better not have hurt Tiger!”

“That Jaspcub had better not have hurt my Hexa!” Sharky yelled from her cubby.

“Your stupid cub was the one chasing my Tiger, not the other way around!”

“Not here two minutes and you’re already picking a fight…” Skinny said.

“I was born to fight, so were you! Instead you hang around humans and play with cubs!” Jasper snapped.

“You don’t have to be this way. And you have two cubs of your own, so don’t yell at me about it. I don’t even have any cubs!” Skinny said.

Jasper got in her face. “It’s totally different! I train Tiger and Fang! They will fight! These ones don’t seem to do anything! What kind of Jasper are you that doesn’t want to fight? My cubs would fight each other practically since the day they hatched! There are other Jaspcubs here, do they fight?” The giant quartz yelled.

“Kay’s furry Jaspcub will fight with her Amecub sisters, but nobody else,” 8XJ said.

“Skinny can get crazy and vicious sometimes. I’ve seen it,” Amethyst said, taking Violet before Jasper scared her too much.

Skinny knelt down to look at Fang. “Hello little Jaspcub!” the mini-Jasper hid behind her mother’s legs. “Oh, this cub doesn’t look like she wants to fight. She looks scared. Am I really that menacing?” she asked.

“She’s not scared of you; she’s just unfamiliar with the area. All these two have ever known has been their nest and the area surrounding my den. I’m surprised Tiger is taking to it so well,” Jasper said. Skinny hugged her. “Hey! What the heck do you think you’re doing?! I’m not the tiny Amethyst fuzzball, I don’t hug!”

“I’ve missed you! Carnie and I both wondered what happened to you after you were taken by Yellow Diamond. At one point Holly Blue had pretty well convinced Carnie you had been shattered a long time ago, but I never believed her. You’ll be happy here if you just give it a chance, you’ll see. Your cubs already seem to like it,” Skinny said. “If you need anything, ask Carnelian. I have a date with an attractive Amethyst. Free love, another fun thing about this place.” She walked off.

“Yeah, I’ll take you around! We can avoid Holly Blue’s office, but there are other interesting places here. We’ll find you a cubby of your own, so maybe we should start there,” Carnelian said excitedly.

Almost all of the quartz were watching Jasper from their cubbies and other parts of the room. Most of them were Amethysts, but there were several Jaspers around too. The Rose Quartzes mostly kept to their own room, though sometimes they’d come around. Humans watched her warily too, but they knew the quartz would protect them should she decide to attack.

“These are where we stay most of the time. Before the humans took over they were our homes, but now they’re mostly nesting boxes for those who had cubs. My nest is up there,” Carnelian explained, pointing at her cubby.

“Where is your agate? I should probably report to her anyway,” Jasper asked.

“She’s always in her office with her own cubs. One of the Amethysts sired three cubs with her and she doesn’t spend much time out of the office, but we’re not talking about Holly Blue right now, are we clear? We’re just going to talk about happy quartz things, not about the jerk who kept calling me and my cubs bad things just because she could…” Carnelian said with a snarl.

“Why? What did she say about the cubs this time?!” Amethyst asked angrily.

“Just the same thing she always says about them. She really doesn’t like our kids for some reason,” Carnelian told her.

“She says anything about my cubs and I’m gonna tear her a new one,” Jasper growled.

“The Jasper cubs don’t bother her. It’s just mine she hates, but what did I just tell you? We’re not talking about Holly. Let’s just go on with the tour,” Carnelian said.


	4. Chapter 4

After the tour, Skinny had finished with Chip and had joined her sister in the cubby she had claimed. Jasper was drawing something. Tiger and Fang wrestled next to them.

“M and Carnelian and I agreed we’re going to have to give you a name. There’s many Jaspers here, you need a name,” Skinny said.

“I don’t need a name, much less one you’d come up with,” Jasper growled.

“Your cubs have names. What’s that?” Skinny asked.

“Just a drawing. There’s not much to do here,” Jasper said.

“There’s plenty to do here, you just have to look for it.”

“Yeah, right. Play with humans like the runts!” Jasper snapped.

“What is that animal you’ve drawn?”

“What? It’s a dog. You’ve never seen a dog before? You came from Earth too and you’ve never seen a dog? The humans have tons of them, they’re pets.”

“I don’t know much about animals. I’ve been here almost my whole life. Why is the dog covered in mud?” 

“Because it’s amusing. The Amethyst runt says I should call him Filthy Richard; it’s kind of a joke I guess. The thing is his owners are so stupid they don’t take care of him so he’s covered in mud all the time. Humans are stupid, you know,” Jasper said.

“Not all of them. Some of them are my friends. Give them a chance, Sweetness. What’s so funny about the dog anyway? Does it talk or something?” Skinny asked.

“Of course it doesn’t talk. It’s a dog.”

Fang squealed as Tiger bit her. Jasper dropped the comic long enough to separate her cubs and make sure they didn’t hurt each other too much. Skinny picked it up and looked it over. “I think I’ll show this to Carnie. She’ll find it hilarious,” she said.

“You do that. I think Tiger needs to go fight that Amecub again, I’m gonna go tear into her carrier. She’s big, looks fun. I hope she fights, because Diamonds know you’re not good enough. I haven’t fought anyone for weeks and I’m at my limit,” Jasper said, jumping down with Tiger, leaving Fang with Skinny.

Skinny cuddled Fang, who surprisingly allowed it. “I don’t know, cub. Do you think your cousins will think this drawing is funny? I think it is,” she said. Fang snuggled against her chest. “Your mother said you’re part Lapis Lazuli. You’ve got lovely stripes. Your sister is just a common Red like your mother and I, you’re so lucky. If I ever have cubs they’ll probably be either more Red Jaspers or Amethysts…or between you and me, maybe Carnelians.” She looked down, watching Jasper trying to antagonize Sharky into a fight. Carnelian and Amethyst were playing, chasing their cubs. Since 8XH was protecting Hexa, Tiger had gone after a small human girl, and the parents were trying to get her away from her. “It’s so nice to have someone I can talk to who doesn’t understand all the horrible things I say. You want to go play with them? That sounds like a good idea. I think we could both use some exercise.”

Holding the cub protectively and lovingly, the tall Jasper leapt down to join most of the quartz. Nellie stopped the game and ran to her, begging for attention.

“Hey! No biting!” Jasper yelled from where she was fighting Sharky. The big Amethyst had her sharp teeth in the other giant quartz’s arm. Most of the cubs sat and watched, thinking it was the funniest thing ever. Amethyst caught Violet and sat down with her to cheer for Sharky.

Fang was not interested at all with the fight. She was more interested in the paper Skinny had. The Jaspcub tried to get it, but her aunt was wise to her. “No, little one. This is your mother’s and I’m not about to let you ruin it before I can show Carnie and 8XM,” she said.

“I’ve seen that comic. I was the one who came up with the name for that dog,” Amethyst said.

“You two! Stop fighting at once and get back to…okay, you’re new,” Holly Blue yelled, coming out of her office and noticing Jasper. “Very nice. The horns are disgusting, but you’re otherwise a very fine specimen of quartz. Much better than the Jaspers here. I don’t know why Blue Diamond spared them; they should’ve been harvested years ago. Not you, though.”

Jasper and Sharky stopped fighting immediately. Jasper saluted her, but Sharky said: “Hey Holly. Where’re the kids?” 

“Show her some respect,” Jasper hissed.

“She’s been demoted,” Carnelian said.

“My precious cubs are asleep! It’s a good thing too! You all get to work! I don’t care what. Not you, Miss Jasper. Come with me, I have things I would know about you,” Holly said. Jasper picked up Tiger and took Fang from Skinny and followed her. “You’ve got cubs too? Just because everyone was unsuppressed does not mean they needed to exploit that. I didn’t necessarily want cubs, but the Amethysts decided I did.”

“I did want mine. I like watching them fight everything,” Jasper said.

Once they had gone into Holly’s office, the Agate went to check and make sure her daughters were still asleep while Jasper sat on her bed with her cubs on her lap.

“You’ve got an Amethyst,” Jasper said with a snerk.

“Royal is NOT an Amethyst, she is a purple Agate!” Holly yelled.

“Looks like an Amethyst to me.”

“Well, she’s not.”

“Yes she is. I can see the gem on her head. That’s an Amethyst.”

“Well, she’s not like the other Amethysts. She might as well be an Agate.”

“Whatever. What do you want with me?” Jasper asked. The cubs got bored with sitting on her lap and started jumping on the bed.

“Tell me your designation,” Holly said.

“Jasper Facet Nine…I don’t remember the rest. The cubs are Tiger and Fang.”

“You’re so big and powerful. There is no doubt in my mind who you are. There was only one quartz from Beta Kindergarten so perfect. To see you in such a state is saddening,” Holly said, getting out a nail file.

“Are you going to file my claws off? I need them,” Jasper said.

“No, the awful horns. You’re beautiful, but the horns get in the way of that. Not much I can do about the spots. Just relax, this may hurt a bit,” Holly said.

“DON’T YOU DARE! I don’t care how they make me look, if I’m gonna have them removed I’ll do it myself!” Jasper roared. The cubs growled, not liking whatever was making their mother upset and ready to defend her.

XX

“I wonder what they’re doing in there?” Carnelian asked.

“Holly likes her, I can tell, but she won’t do anything about it with Jasper’s cubs around,” Skinny said. 

“Have we found a name for her yet?” Chip asked, Raspberry asleep in her arms.

“I still think Stripes sounds cute, but she claims she doesn’t want a name,” Skinny said.


	5. Chapter 5

“She touched your what?” Carnelian cried out. Jasper was laying on her side in her cubby, her sisters trying to comfort her. She had had a miserable experience with Holly Blue even after she had made it clear she didn’t want the big Agate to remove her horns.

“I told you, she fondled me,” Jasper growled.

“I can’t believe she’d make an advance like that with your cubs right there. She’s usually decent around the cubs, except for Carnelian’s,” Skinny said.

“It’s not like she swears at them or anything. She just generally calls them ‘Love cubs’ because Amethyst isn’t my real mate,” Carnelian said.

“The runt seems to think she is,” Jasper said.

“No, she knows we’re just friends and we just had cubs because I wanted them. Not to say she wouldn’t be a good mate, of course, and she loves our cubs but she doesn’t want to stay here permanently,” Carnelian said.

“No, she just wants you to go live with her,” Skinny said.

“Can you two leave? I need to feed my cubs,” Jasper said.

“Hey Stripes, have you had anything to eat? I know you don’t need to but it’s good for the cubs. They have this slurry they made for the Jasper carriers, and me too because I’m pretty close. Really helps,” Carnelian said.

“Leave! I don’t want to tell you again! AND STOP CALLING ME STRIPES! I DON’T NEED A NAME!” Jasper yelled. Carnelian and Skinny jumped down from the cubby.

“I still can’t believe Holly touched her like that,” Skinny said.

“I can. She was clearly attracted to her as soon as she spotted her,” Carnelian said.

“But with cubs around?”

“Yeah. Speaking of which, I need to find mine. They need to be fed too.”

“Well, I see Vee-Seven has Violet. I don’t know where Nellie is, but maybe one of the Amethysts does. Stars, Violet looks so much like M,” Skinny said.

“She’s got my gem placement and eyes, and I’ve been told my gemlings are going to grow into full-sized quartzes someday. Apparently me being born sideways and Amethyst being late does not affect my cubs at all,” Carnelian said. “Hey! Jay, Sharky, have either of you seen Nellie?”

“There’s only so many places a Carncub could hide, she stands out amongst all these Primes,” Skinny said.

“Hey Skinny? Bite me,” Jay said.

“You couldn’t afford that, honey. Now have you seen the Carncub or not?”

“Is M still here? Your Nellie is her cub too, so maybe she has her,” Chip said, resting nearby with Raspberry playing with her hair.

“The tiny Amethyst said she has something to discuss with the Rose Quartzes. Probably about Steven leaving and everything, but I don’t know if she has the Carncub or not,” one of the other Jaspers said.

“I hope so. She’d feed Nellie if she started fussing,” Carnelian said.

XX

“I have no clue what I’m gonna do with myself. All I know is if that Agate touches me again I’m gonna tear her to pieces while her cubs watch!” Jasper yelled to the gathered quartzes. Carnelian had both her cubs in her arms. Amethyst had indeed had the Carncub with her, but she had gone home after talking with the Rose Quartzes.

“There are plenty of jobs here for someone willing to do them. We do need someone to watch all the cubs while we do our work. Holly always gets on our cases because we spend all our time playing,” Cat, one of the Jaspers, said.

“I’m not a babysitter, I care for my cubs and them alone,” Jasper growled.

“Aw, but they’re so much fun Stripes. I’ve got two Amethysts, Prima and Betta. Jay says next time she’s having the cubs.”

“If you don’t stop calling me Stripes ‘Jay’ will have to find someone else to have Amethysts with!”

“There is no reason for you to be so mean. We like you, we want you to stay with us,” Skinny said.

“If you want to spar, we can arrange that, so long as you don’t hurt anyone,” Sharky said.

“And your dog is funny,” Carnelian said.

“I’d rather she didn’t draw that again. My cub saw it, it freaked the heck outta her. She didn’t understand that it was just a silly drawing,” 8XL said.

“This is the problem. You guys were bred to be warriors. Instead you play with humans and have become a bunch of lazy mothers!” Jasper raged.

“You’re scaring MY cub now! You don’t need to be such a jerk all the time!” One of the Amethysts yelled.

“We’re not all mothers. I don’t have any gemlings,” Skinny reminded her.

“I’m sure you will eventually.”

“Yeah, I probably will, but there is nothing wrong with it. We love each other, all of us. Homeworld wants us to do it now because they don’t colonize anymore and a lot of gems got shattered. There’s more to life than fighting, that’s all. And you know how hard it is to control yourself when you go into heat. We all went in at once, and it was horribly painful,” Skinny said.

“My cub is special. She’s a fusion,” A Jasper called Cream said. Her cub was mostly orange with violet stripes and she was currently wrestling with Tiger.


	6. Chapter 6

The quartzes were all relaxing in the habitat. The cubs were all playing, as were some of the mothers. Even Holly Blue had her cubs out playing, even though she didn’t like them hanging around with all the Amethysts despite the fact she had an Amecub.

Jasper was in the pond, and she looked absolutely miserable. Truth was she was depressed. It didn’t help that Holly Blue was watching her. 

“She’s not gonna touch you again, we’ll make sure of it,” Sharky said. “You hear me Holly? You lay a finger on our Stripes and you won’t believe what I’ll do to you! It won’t be nice, trust me!”

“Don’t call me Stripes!” Jasper screamed. Sharky just laughed. 

“We could think of much worse nicknames,” Carnelian said, swimming on her back. She was nude, as were most of the gems. Jasper had phased herself a swimsuit. She was not going to go nude with Holly Blue right there.

“Skinny calls her Sweetness,” Sharky said.

“Skinny calls everyone Sweetness or Honey or something cute like that,” Carnelian said.

“I’m not sweet,” Jasper growled.

“It was 8XM who came up with my name. I like it. What do you want to be called?” Sharky asked. 

“I told you all before, I’m just Jasper. If I cared to find my formal name I would. The other Jaspers need names, I don’t,” Jasper said.

“C’mon, names are fun. Even Holly’s cubs have names. They’re Pale Blue Agate, Royal Purple Agate, and Sky Blue Agate, and we think 8XB was the lucky Amethyst who sired them but we’re not certain. It’s hilarious because Royal is definitely an Amethyst. 8XM says she’s gonna give all the Amethysts names next time she’s here,” Cat said.

“She doesn’t have a name herself, she’s just Amethyst. And Carnelian doesn’t have a name,” Jasper hissed.

“Sure I do. I’m Carnie,” Carnelian said.

“That’s not a name, that’s just a shortened version of what you are. Everything about you is short,” Jasper said.

“I’m travel-sized for convenience. We can’t all be gigantic,” Carnie said.

“Yeah, right. I’ve seen Carnelians on Homeworld. They’re massive, some of them bigger than most of these Amethysts. Had to work with one for a little while at one point, I didn’t like her. She practically worshipped me, kept trying to get me to sleep with her. I did once. I think she wanted to have my cubs, despite the fact we would’ve been shattered if she had,” Jasper said.

“We all love Carnie the way she is,” Skinny said.

“I’ve never seen another of my own kind besides my daughter, and we all know she’s going to be huge someday. Maybe even bigger than you because all the minerals she and her sister get from me,” Carnie said.

“Don’t know why you were the only Carnelian from Beta. It’s not like you’re a rare kind of gem. Carnelians and Jaspers are often made in the same kindergarten,” Jasper said.

“I hope someday I can meet one,” Carnie said.

“It was H that named our cub. She named her after the shape of her gem, and it works great because it also starts with an H to tie it to her,” Sharky said. “Next time though, I’m going to have the cub.”

The large Amethyst smiled and traced a finger along her belly. “I can’t wait. My own little Sharky that’s going to grow inside me. Hey, how come all you Jaspers had two? Wish I could have two. I hate the stupid quartz reproduction rate.”

“Not all the Jaspers had two, just me and Stri…Jasper,” Cat said.

“Carnie did too! She’s almost a Jasper.”

“Maybe it’s something about Beta. I don’t know why but I’ve always formed more than one egg. One time I had four of them,” Jasper said.

“Sometimes Amethysts can have more than one. 8XD has an Amethyst and a Jasper/Amethyst fusion like Cream’s,” Jay said.

“Cubs aren’t everything, Sharky. We lived for thousands of years with gemlings being illegal instead of encouraged like they are now,” Skinny said.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you had one! I wanted a lot of them. Tried it with Chip, she’s convinced Raspberry is 7XC’s. I tried it with Holly, but you know all her cubs are from 8XB. Yeah, Hexa is definitely mine, but the one with the most offspring is boss, you know that,” Sharky said.

Jasper was getting tired of hearing this and got out of the water. She planned to go to her cubby and sulk. She searched for her cubs, not pleased when she found Tiger pinned under Royal and Fang trying to get Sky Agate to wrestle with her and Holly Blue trying to get her away from her.

“Hey! HEY! Agate, give me my cubs!” Jasper yelled.

“Take them! They’re tormenting mine!” Holly yelled back.

“They’re not hurting them at all, they’re just playing,” a human said.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about! My daughters are perfect, and no lowly Jaspcub is going to hurt them!” 

Jasper lost it. For some reason this was hilarious. She started laughing like crazy. Holly looked completely embarrassed. 

“What is wrong with you?! I never thought the supposed Perfect Quartz would have such defective cubs!” Holly ranted. 

It stopped being funny. Jasper went from hysterical to enraged in two seconds flat. “My cubs are NOT defective! Unlike your brats, my cubs were planned! They’re my little warriors, and I love them!” she roared.

Holly pulled out her whip. “Back off, quartz,” she said.

Jasper lunged at her, but she couldn’t get more than two feet before Holly hit her with the whip. The pain was incredible. Jasper had been electrocuted before, but not like this. She fell back, panting.

“Mommy!” Tiger yelped, running to Jasper’s side.

“The cubs can talk?” Chip asked. The other quartz were watching the fight intently.

Jasper tried to get back up, and Holly got ready to hit her again. Fang was at her feet, growling at her. “Back off, Jaspcub,” Holly said.

“She’s not going to whip a cub, is she?” Jay asked.

Just as Holly struck, little Hexa pushed Fang over, not understanding the danger and trying to get her to play. The Amecub was hit instead. With a horrible squeal, the Amethyst disappeared in a cloud of light, her gemstone clattering to the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

The reaction was immediate. 

Holly dissipated her whip. She had not meant to hit the Amethyst. But almost before she could register what she had done, Sharky was on top of her. 8XH ran to where her cub’s gemstone lay and scooped her up before anything else could happen to her. 

“Thank the stars, still in one piece. She’ll live,” the Amethyst carrier said. Her mate couldn’t hear, she was too blinded by rage and was busy pummeling the Agate. Jasper sat and watched with her cubs climbing all over her, she was still a little bit stunned.

“Now she’s done it!” Jay cried.

“How could she do that to a helpless cub?” Carnelian asked, Skinny holding her. Both of them looked close to tears. Carnelian’s cubs watched with wide eyes, holding onto Skinny’s legs. They didn’t understand what exactly had just happened, but they did understand that it was bad and their mother was very upset.

“Can one so little regenerate?” Chip asked.

“I hope so,” 8XK said.

“YOU WOULD KILL A CUB?! IF IT HADN’T BEEN MY CUB IT WOULD’VE BEEN JASPER’S! TO THINK I USED TO WANT YOU TO HAVE MINE!” Sharky raged. 

“It was an accident! I was angry! And I wasn’t going to kill her, just stun her so she left my cub alone! Quartzes are strong!” Holly cried.

“THAT WAS NO ACCIDENT!”

“Hexa isn’t dead, she’ll come back,” 8XH said, even though she didn’t look so sure herself. She was cradling the small gem, wishing for her cub to regenerate.

Holly released her own form just as Jay and Chip pulled Sharky off. “Enough,” Jay said.

“It’s not enough until I shatter that bitch for what she did to my daughter!” Sharky yelled, trying to bite the other Amethysts so they’d let her go.

“Carnie? Could you or Skinny take Holly back to her office and put her in her nest? I’ll take the cubs in when I can. Sharky, stop it. We’ll take care of this. H, take your cub to the Rose Quartzes, they could heal her. Listen, we know she could’ve killed Hexa, and we’re really sorry for that, and Holly is not going to get away with this, but we can’t let you kill her. If she didn’t have cubs of her own, that would be another story. I’m going to contact 8XM. She’ll get Blue Diamond to handle this. Now, we’ll let you go, but only if you’ll stop fighting,” Jay said. Sharky slumped, no longer wanting to fight.

“I just love when she takes charge like that,” Cat said.

As soon as Sharky was let go, she ran off to her cubby in tears. 8XH tried to follow, but the bigger Amethyst growled at her.

“Leave Sharky alone for now. Go get Hexa healed, H,” Jay said.

Jasper dusted herself off and picked up her cubs. She looked around. The humans had all retreated to their side of the room when Holly attacked, nobody could blame them. Carnelian was doing what Jay told her. The orange quartz thought about going to her cubby, but then she changed her mind. She went to Sharky’s instead.

Sharky was curled up in a ball in the corner of her cubby, sobbing. She looked a lot smaller than she usually did.

“Go away, Stripes. This is all your fault,” The Amethyst snarled.

“I didn’t know your cub was there. I was protecting my own brood,” Jasper said, deciding not to press the issue about the nickname again.

“If it wasn’t for your brat Hexa wouldn’t have been hurt!”

“It was the Agate that tried to whip my cub! If Hexa hadn’t intervened it would’ve been Fang! She sacrificed herself for my daughter. I’ve gone soft since I had cubs. If I could’ve just been at my full strength I would’ve shrugged that whip off like it was nothing and would’ve been able to save my cub myself,” Jasper said.

“That doesn’t change what happened! My daughter might not regenerate. Your stupid actions could’ve gotten her killed!”

“8XH says her stone is fine. They’re taking her to the Rose Quartzes to get her healed.”

“Hexa is still a baby. Gemlings might not be able to regenerate like we can,” Sharky said. Jasper put her cubs down and they crawled over to the big Amethyst. “You two are nothing but trouble.” She growled, but she picked up Fang, “but you sure are cute,”

“You love cubs,” Jasper said.

“Not just cubs. I love babies in general. So do Jay and Skinny. We spent so long taking care of the humans, and it was so exciting when they’d have babies. I didn’t know we could reproduce. We’re all kindergarten gems and Holly never said anything either way. And then 8XG had her cub. It was so great when we all started coming into heat. I mean, the state itself was miserable, but we were fertile. We could have cubs of our very own. When I realized that, I had to make an Amethyst. A baby of my own, that was all I ever wanted. When 8XH approached me saying she wanted my cub, I couldn’t say no. I hoped I’d manage to get more than just one. Chip agreed we’d try, but she also slept with 7XC and Cream. Raspberry’s gem is in the same place as 7XC’s. A few of the Amethysts and I slept with Holly. She agreed…”

“Probably because she was in such strong heat she couldn’t think of anything else,” Jasper cut in.

“The point is, she agreed. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise, I’m not a rapist. But I bet anything it was 8XB that knocked her up. Yes, all three of her cubs have her gem placement, but Royal looks like Bee,” the Amethyst spat on the ground, thinking about Holly Blue. “From the moment I knew H was having my cub, it meant everything to me. Hexa means the universe to me. And now…I just want her back.”

“I had cubs for a different reason. Do you know what it is like to be alone? No, you’ve lived with dozens of Amethysts your whole life. Yes, there are many Jaspers on Earth, but they’re not like me, they’re not worth my time. I had been abandoned by my Diamonds, left with nothing. There was nobody to fight, nothing to do. I needed something. There was a Lapis Lazuli…we have a complicated relationship. I’d rather not get into it. I don’t know what attracted me so much to her. She has a mate of her own, and gemlings. I wanted that. Maybe if I had cubs, I wouldn’t feel so alone. I could train them, fight them. I convinced the Lapis to sire my cubs. That’s why Fang has blue stripes on her legs, even though she is a Jasper. I didn’t expect to love my little warriors so much, but I do,” Jasper said.

“You’re not such a big, bad gem after all, are you Stripes? Personally, I think you’re pretty cute. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I know it wasn’t your fault, it was all Holly. She hasn’t been so bad since she had cubs, I never expected her to do that again,” Sharky said.

Tiger pawed at Jasper’s leg. “Mommy,” she squeaked.

“They can talk,” Sharky said.

“Not really. All they can say is ‘Mommy’. I’ve been trying to teach them other stuff, but I think they may be a little bit too young for that,” Jasper said, picking up the cub. “Oh, great. I bet they’re hungry.”

“It’s okay, you can feed them here. It’s not like I’ve never been around a breastfeeding mother. The humans do it all the time,” Sharky said. 

Jasper noticed the Amethyst’s eyes were glued to her chest. She remembered what Skinny had told her about the quartz and free love. “Not here. I’m going to my cubby. If you want to follow, that’s your choice, but I imagine your cub will be healed soon and want to see you,” she said, taking Fang and leaving Sharky’s nest.


	8. Chapter 8

“That was incredible, you’re talented,” Sharky purred.

“Feeling any better?” Jasper asked, licking her face.

“I’m still worried about my cub,” Sharky said.

“Yeah, but I was just trying to help keep your mind off your pain for a while. I’m sure Hexa has reformed by now. She is an Amethyst, and Rose Quartzes have healing powers. That runt 8XM can regenerate in minutes,” Jasper said.

Sharky phased her uniform back on. “Yeah, okay,” she said, jumping down from Jasper’s cubby.

Jasper stretched out and looked down. The quartzes all together, Jay was explaining the situation to Amethyst, who looked incredibly angry. Sharky was delightedly holding and nuzzling the successfully reformed Hexa. The large orange quartz decided to phase on her own clothes and join them.

“There you are! We couldn’t do anything until you showed up,” Amethyst said.

“I was having fun, runt. Your sister needed me,” Jasper said.

“Where are your cubs?”

“Sleeping in the cubby. I’m surprised they slept through it. Haven’t had a lay that good in years,” Jasper said. Skinny snickered. Most of the Amethysts started laughing out loud.

“You think she’s good, come see me later!” Carnelian called out.

“Invite me too!” Jay cried delightedly.

“Is this really a time to be joking?” Amethyst asked. “Even though you all are hilarious. Hell, count me in too. I’ll hang around for a while once I get Holly removed. Hope they don’t shatter her. She is a bitch but nobody deserves that. That’s why I came; I want to comfort my sisters and nieces what with all this going on. I’ll play with my cubs and spend some quality time with my sisters. Not like Garnet and Pearl need me back home anyway. G has all those gemlings she has to chase everywhere; P spends most of her time at Little Homeschool.”

“Come right out and say it, M. You probably just want me again,” Skinny said.

“Stars, yes,” Amethyst said. “Fire of a Jasper, body of a Pearl, sexy. Carnie can join too. I have a special place in my non-existent heart for her.” 

“Yeah, I only had your cubs,” Carnie said.

“Where are they anyway?” Amethyst asked.

“Off playing. I expect them to come back soon. It’s about time for a feeding. You wanna do it?”

“Do you need to ask? Of course I’ll take care of my daughters!”

“Now that’s a good sire! Sharing responsibility for the cubs. M, maybe I should have your gemling next time,” Jay said.

“No you don’t, Jay. I get to have M’s fluffy little Amecub,” 8XG argued.

“No, she’s gonna put one in me!” Sharky growled.

“She can give us all cubs! That’s the great thing about her being a sire!” 8XL called out.

“Oh my stars you guys are too embarrassing for words,” Amethyst said, facepalming.

“You guys stop harassing M or I’m gonna tack a poster of Filthy Richard on the walls to scare the cubs,” Jasper said.

“It’s only MY cub scared of that cartoon dog!” L said, holding said cub to her in fear.

“I think you’re the one who is afraid of him,” Jasper taunted.

“We need to elect a new leader, or else Blue might just assign another Agate to this place, and you really don’t want that. Holly is one of the more pleasant ones, despite poofing an innocent cub and her obvious interest in Jasper,” Amethyst said.

“How about you?” Carnelian asked.

“I can’t. I don’t live here. Jay could do it,” Amethyst said.

“I’m nobody’s leader. I just had to act to keep Sharky from killing Holly,” Jay said.

“Skinny? You’re clever,” Amethyst suggested.

“I’m one of the weakest gems here. If any Jasper is going to lead us, it should be Stripes,” Skinny said.

“Don’t call me…” Jasper began.

“Hey yeah! Stripes is the Perfect Quartz! She’d be a great leader!” Chip cried.

“I’m nobody’s leader. I serve the Diamonds,” Jasper said.

“You don’t need anyone to tell you what to do Jaspy, you’re not a Pearl. You and your cubs can live however you want,” Sharky said. 

“Jaspy? That’s worse than Stripes,” Jasper muttered.

“Hey, Sharky, you got a flame for Jasper? That’s just perfect. You’re both loose cannons,” Amethyst said. Carnelian whispered something to Skinny, who started laughing hysterically.

“What?” Sharky asked.

“Never mind. It’s not really important,” Skinny said, still giggling.

“Be serious for once! Sex jokes and yelling at each other aren’t going to solve anything! You guys need to decide on a leader and I need someone to get in contact with Homeworld. I’m not going there. As I said, I’m here for support. You guys do that. I’m gonna find my kids,” Amethyst said.


	9. Chapter 9

The other quartzes talked among themselves, trying to figure something out. Amethyst and Jasper separated from them, joined only by Carnelian, Carnie’s cubs, and Jasper’s cubs.

“I really hope they don’t pick Sharky,” Carnelian said.

“I think she’d be great. She’s a true warrior, the only one out the lot of you. Even the Jaspers here are weak,” Jasper said.

“You’re just saying that because you’ve got a crush on her and spent the last few hours having sex with her before Am showed up. We heard the two of you up in your cubby, I don’t know how your cubs could’ve slept through that…at least I hope they slept through it,” Carnie taunted, knowing full well Jasper wouldn’t hurt a fellow Beta, even one as defective and small as her.

“Why aren’t you with them, Carnie? You’re as much one of them as anyone,” Amethyst asked, sitting with her back against a wall, nursing her cubs.

“I have no idea who should be our leader. I agree Holly Blue should be punished somehow, but maybe she could stay on with us. They could take her whip or something,” Carnelian said.

“You can’t be serious, runt. She tried to hurt my cub,” Jasper said.

“That’s why I said to take her whip. I don’t like her, but she’s got cubs herself. I wouldn’t want them to be all alone. Not to mention we’d prolly end up with a much nastier Agate who won’t let us get away with all the stuff Holly does.”

“Yeah, few things sadder than the thought of a helpless cub not having a mother let alone three of them. Steven always wondered about his mother, though he eventually learned more than he wanted to. We all did,” Amethyst said.

“We didn’t have mothers,” Jasper hissed.

“Sometimes I wish I did. All these cubs are so lucky. They’ve got big quartz mamas to love them and they all seem so happy. I guess in a way Pink Diamond was our mother. Were we ever cubs while we were still growing in the kindergartens?”

“Bet you would’ve been an adorable cub, Am. Violet looks just like you,” Carnelian said.

“Holly’s cubs would still have their sire, the brats wouldn’t be alone,” Jasper said angrily.

“Not the same as having their mother. Just ask Steven what it’s like to just have a father,” Amethyst said.

“My cubs don’t even know about their sire.”

“Yeah, but they have their mother. 8XB plays and cares for Holly’s cubs. They’d miss Holly; your cubs don’t know Lapis so they can’t miss her.”

“Lapis couldn’t care less about Tiger and Fang, so she doesn’t deserve to see them,” Jasper said. The twin Jaspers chirped at their mother upon hearing their names.

“But if something happened to you, they’d be devastated,” Carnelian said.

“They were very upset when Steven shattered me. He told me all about it, that’s how he found out I had cubs in the first place,” Jasper growled.

“Yes! So how do you think Holly’s cubs would be if she got removed or worse: shattered? They’d never get over it, and they’d probably blame you,” Carnelian said.

“Let them. That bitch deserves the worst! What would you have done if she had done something like that to one of your little monsters?”

“Don’t badmouth my cubs, I’m already tired of Holly doing it,” Carnie snarled. “But yeah, I would’ve done the same thing Sharky did if she had hurt either of them.”

“Hey, here’s a great idea! I want to see your cubs fight mine. They’re about the same size. Let’s see who is a better mother!” Jasper yelled.

“Out of the four of them, only Tiger likes to fight,” Carnie said.

“Fang will fight too. She’s always wrestling with Tiger. I told you, they’re little warriors and they’ll be fighting all these Amethysts when they grow up into giant Jaspers like me so best to start now. C’mon runts! Make your cubs fight mine!”

“Jasper, stop it. You can’t make the cubs fight if they don’t want to! And they’re free gems, they can do whatever they want with themselves,” Amethyst said, holding her cubs protectively to her.

“And I think my cubs are a little too small to understand what we’re trying to get them to do. I know your cubs can talk…” Carnelian began.

“All they can say is ‘Mommy’, they heard it from Steven,” Jasper muttered.

“…but mine are younger than yours. It will be a while before they get big enough to fight like your twins.”

“They’re not that much older. And they would fight from the day they hatched. Tiger swatted at me when she was first born. And Fang bit my nips, that’s why I called her Fang,” Jasper said. She picked up Tiger. “C’mon Tiger, fight the Carnelian and Mommy will let you nurse first today.”

“Put her down and knock it off! I won’t let you hurt my cubs!” Carnelian hissed. 

“I’m not gonna hurt your cubs, my cubs will!”

Amethyst put her cubs down and drew her whip from her gem. Carnelian managed to pull out an axe bigger than she was. 

“Maybe we should fight instead,” Amethyst hissed.

Jasper phased on her helmet. “A fine lesson for the cubs,” she said.


	10. Chapter 10

“I can’t believe she managed to goad us into a fight,” Amethyst said, lying on the ground exhausted after her battle with Jasper. Her cubs had run off to play after she put them down to fight.

“I can. She’s a Jasper, and we know her well enough. She does anything to pick a fight,” Carnelian said, next to her. The Amethysts had caught them fighting and instead of breaking it up, sat there cheering for Carnie and Amethyst. Jasper had gotten bored with it and went to her cubby with her twins.

“How did you manage to swing that axe so fast? It’s bigger than you!” Amethyst exclaimed, laughing.

“Meh, I’m a lot stronger than I look. I am a quartz like you after all.”

“You’re just lucky we managed to herd all the humans out of the way so Stripes couldn’t hurt them when she started that spin dash thing,” 8XG said. The other quartz decided she would be the best choice to represent them for the time being. Skinny and Jay were holding the reformed Holly, waiting for an official from Homeworld to take her to receive a punishment.

“The only one lucky here is Holly Blue. If I had my way her shards would be decorating my cubby for what she did to Hexa!” Sharky snapped.

“I was perfectly within my right to protect my cub, and I wasn’t going to kill the Jaspcub. I was merely going to stun her. Your gemling has reformed, Cheeky, leave me alone,” Holly said. “I can’t believe I’m in for another demotion! Maybe I’ll be lucky and be relocated to Homeworld to find another assignment while another Agate can handle you miscreants. She won’t be as lenient as I am!” 

“Honey, I wouldn’t be complaining, you could have had it a lot worse,” Skinny said.

“Be thankful Steven won’t allow them to shatter you,” Jay hissed. 

“Maybe we can all just go live on Earth. This place is hardly active anymore anyway. The Diamonds don’t need us, we can take the humans and go home,” G said.

“That’s actually a pretty good idea. Civilian life sounds fun, just me and Jay and Kay and our cubs,” Cat said.

“I could be a professional bodybuilder!” Sharky said.

“Maybe I would be a good midwife, for humans or for gems,” Skinny mused. “I already delivered quite a few of them here.”

“I always wondered if I would make a good fight instructor,” Jay said.

“Maybe some of us could even get married!” 7XC said, blushing.

“What’s married?” 8XL asked.

“M says it’s when you’re mates for life, you know, like Choosening,” 8XH said.

“Yeah, settle down, have lots of cubs, be happy,” Chip agreed.

“I’d marry Am in a second,” Carnie said.

“Stop it Carnie, I already told you I don’t want to be claimed right now,” Amethyst hissed.

“We could enroll Lavender and Amy and the rest of the cubs into that Gem school you told us about,” G said.

“It’s not just for gemlings. You could enroll yourselves, too. You all could have tons of fun in Little Homeworld, and I can see you all and my kids more often,” Amethyst said.

“Are there a lot of quartz there?” Carnie asked.

“Oh yeah. Amethysts, Agates, Jaspers, Citrines, big fluffy Carnelians,” Amethyst put emphasis on the last one.

“Carnelians, that’s too perfect! I’ve never seen another one besides Nellie,” Carnie said.

“There’s gemlings too. A lot of them. You know gems have been encouraged to breed since the Diamonds don’t use the Kindergartens anymore. The Peridots are working on a hatchery in town for gems that have school and work and can’t spend all day taking care of their eggs,” Amethyst said.

“I don’t want to go back to Earth; I’ve just started to settle in here. And my cubs are better off with fellow gems, pathetic though you all are,” Jasper said, coming back down from her cubby.

“I hope you don’t mean me,” Sharky said.

“You’re tolerable,” Jasper admitted.

“Aw, I love you too Jaspy.” 

Jasper pushed her playfully. “Shut up, Sharky.”

“Aw, you do like her. I knew you’d be happy here,” Amethyst said.

“I’m going to shatter you if you don’t stop it, runt!” Jasper yelped.

“Stripes, please don’t be mean to M. She’s as much one of us as anyone else,” Cat growled.

Jasper turned on her sister. “Stop defending the runty Amethyst, 4AXC! You’re a Jasper!” She roared.

“MY NAME IS CAT!” The other Jasper said, summoning a pair of daggers.

“You want to fight? Gladly,” Jasper said, summoning her helmet again.

“You think you can take me, Stripes? I know how to fight as much as any Jasper,” Cat hissed.

“Lick my stripey orange twatch, I can take any of you any time,” Jasper taunted, getting ready to attack.

G got in the way before they could do anything. “Stop it. I don’t want to have to have anyone else healed right now. We’re still waiting on intervention from Homeworld. You can fight some other time,” she said angrily.

“Forget you 4AXC; I’ll take this Amethyst instead!” Jasper cried, jumping on G’s back.

Before they could do much else, the Warp Pad chimed and off stepped a Sapphire with three Ruby Guards and two very large Carnelians there as backup in case Holly or one of the other Quartzes resisted. Carnie naturally was thrilled and immediately ran towards the other two of her kind, but the Amethysts backed away. Jasper slid off G’s back and watched.

One of the Carnelians saw the much smaller version. “What the heck is this? Some Ruby fused with one of the Amethysts?”

“Hey! I’m a Carnelian just the same as you!” Carnie snapped.

“A tiny Carnelian, how did Blue Diamond let that get away?”

“Oh c’mon M78B, I think she’s cute. Let’s ask Blue Diamond if we can keep her. I’ve always wanted a cub,” the other Carnelian said. Amethyst took this opportunity to hide behind Sharky to keep from being spotted too. If a short Carnelian was causing this much trouble, who knew what they’d do if they saw her. 

“I’m not a cub! I’m a full-grown Carnelian just like you!” Carnie roared.

“I told you already M78T, cubs are a big responsibility.”

Carnie pulled out her axe again, “Keep on calling me a cub, I dare you,” she snarled.

“You two! Leave her alone and assist like you were supposed to!” The Sapphire barked. The Carnelians went over to restrain Holly and relieve the Amethysts.

“I like Jaspers. We came from the same Kindergarten as some Jaspers,” M78B told Cream.

“Oh my stars! Look at all these adorable cubs!” M78T called out, trying to catch Raspberry and play with her. Chip picked her up and glared at the red gem.

“WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU WORTHLESS CARNELIANS?! STOP PLAYING AROUND!” The Sapphire roared. Amethyst couldn’t imagine Garnet’s Sapphire ever acting like that. One of the Carnelians picked up Holly and started toward the warp.

“Wait. I’m coming to Homeworld with you!” Jasper called after them, handing her cubs off to Skinny.

“What the…? Are you abandoning your cubs?” Skinny asked.

“No. You’ll see later!” Jasper said, running off after the other gems.


End file.
